Praise me, Adar
by deansass
Summary: Legolas gets hurt trying to protect his father. How will Thranduil cope when his son loses his memory? Hurt!Legolas, struggling!Thranduil. Please R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: One-Shot for the prompt:**

_"How about Legolas getting injured on a patrol and Thranduil being there when he woke up? Oh, or Legolas taking an injury to protect Thranduil?! "_

**by Anon on tumblr. So basically, I don't know if I'm defying Tolkien rules here, but Legolas is about 970 something years old here. I imagine that he will have just matured, so he's not too grown up. Keep that in mind, it makes this cuter ;D**

**(I'm guessing this would have been his age during The Hobbit?)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You're joining the patrol?" Legolas asked, disbelief evident in his voice. He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "No, really? Adar, you haven't been on a patrol since... Well.. A very long time ago! At least five hundred summers, and I'm barely a thousand summers old myself." He mused. "Why the change of mind?"

Thranduil was getting irritated; he had told Legolas he would join him for the patrol about an hour ago, and Legolas still refused to believe it. Why was his son so stubborn?

Oh, yes. Probably because he was the son of the great, stubborn Thranduil himself.

Thranduil moved away gracefully. "Is the party prepared? I suppose they have been waiting for us for about an hour now, since you would not stop your questioning. Must I reconsider sending you to patrols again? You appear to waste much time." He said, not too kindly.

"Sorry, Adar." Legolas muttered. But he was so excited, and he could not hide it. Going on a patrol with his father? He had never seen Thranduil in battle; not that he hoped to fight today, but seeing his slice a spider or two down would surely satisfy him.

His father's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Dozing off, Legolas? That is never a good sign. I will definitely reconsider sending you on patrols from now on." He snapped lightly, walking out of the room as his child scurried after him.

* * *

As they strolled through the woods, Thranduil exhaled impatiently. "The woods are very quiet and peaceful. Of course, they are dark, and danger lingers around, but I see no monsters jumping around or spiders dragging our guards off as my soldiers make it seem."

"You should be happy about that, Adar." Legolas noted. "You know, I do a very good job of keeping danger as far from our home as possible. There used to be many spiders here when I first began hunting and going on patrols. To see the evident change makes me feel very proud."

Of course, Legolas was longing for a praise from his dear father, who either noticed the longing in his son's voice but decided to ignore it, or did not realise it at all, for he simply nodded and moved forward, guiding his moose.

Legolas' face fell when his father moved onwards; not the praise he had been waiting for, that was for sure. However, he had grown accustomed to it. He was always a very smart, strong and talented elf, but his father never acknowledged anything he did. Legolas could not entirely blame him, either, for after darkness took over Mirkwood, it also took his beloved wife away from him.

He shook his head, trying to focus on something else before the loss of his mother filled his heart again. He could barely remember Mirkwood being merry, and neither could he remember himself being a happy child. He bit on his lip, and nudged his horse forward, trying to make more conversation with his bored king.

"Adar," he began, not knowing what to speak about. Thranduil raised an eyebrow, not bothering to turn his head around to look at his son. "What did you decide to name your... Moose." He asked, feeling silly immediately.

However, to his immense surprise, Thranduil burst out laughing. Legolas stared in awe, for he could barely remember his father laughing like this when he was sober. Perhaps his attempt at a conversation had not failed too badly, after all. "Sam. The name flows, and fits a moose."

"Sounds like a much too simple name to be an elf, dwarf or even human. Good choice." Legolas noted, nodding. He giggled when he looked at the moose. "Hey, Sam."

"My lord, should we turn back? We have ventured very far, and all appears to be clear." A guard accompanying them asked.

Thranduil looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I suppose we should. Everyone, turn around! We are returning to the palace." Then, in a lower voice, he said to his son, "and this was a very boring patrol. You are allowed to doze off and blabber on in patrols like those."

But Legolas did not know if his father was joking or being serious, because Thranduil showed no hint of a smile or even a smirk. And yet, Legolas smiled sheepishly and nodded.

* * *

With a surprised yelp, one of the guards immediately lunged in front of his king, trying to protect him. Sam began losing control, but a few words from Thranduil managed to calm him down once more. Ah, moose were not too good with ten feet tall spiders.

"Adar, are you alright?" Legolas called out, grinning. Yes! Finally, some action! He would get to show his father how good of a warrior he had become, both with his how and arrow and his twin knives.

Thranduil glanced at his son for a brief moment, sending a nod. "Stay away, Legolas. Wait here." He jumped down from Sam, pulling out his elven sword. With his graceful moves, he began to kill the spiders, which were swarming down on them by now.

Apparently, they had sensed their presence, and had prepared to attack when the elves came back. Smart, those spiders.

Legolas rolled his eyes. Since when was Thranduil protective? If anything, he's the one who has been fighting off all those spiders. In fact, he's fought more of them than his own father had; or so he thought.

He climbed up a tree, carefully aiming with his bow and shooting the spiders in the head. Thranduil was about to stab one when it fell dead, an arrow sticking into its temple. He looked up to where Legolas was, and, for a very small moment, smirked. Legolas felt relief flooding him and he began fighting with much more enthusiasm; his father believed in him!

When he began climbing down the tree, he noticed a spider creeping up behind his father, who was fighting off two spiders at once. Legolas thought about calling out to his father, but decided that it would only distract him and allow the other spiders to attack him from front. He inhaled slowly and made his way to the spider, pulling out his twin knives.

Just as he managed to stab the spider, he saw a giant leg of hers (or his?) come his way, and before he could move, he felt a giant pain erupting in his head as his world blacked out.

* * *

"Ion-nin, answer me."

Legolas groaned. He opened his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows, and looked at the ceiling. "Naneth?" He whispered. Then he closed his eyes again, and tried to bring up a hand to rub at his temples. He had a massive headache, and he was fighting dizziness.

"No, it is I." Someone answered sadly. "Legolas, can you open your eyes?" Thranduil prodded. "I need to check for a concussion. Please, ion-nin. Try to open your eyes for me. We're back at the palace, you're safe now."

Legolas could have sworn that he had never heard his father worry for him so much. "Adar?" He pried one eye open, squinting from the light. "When did we leave the palace? Where is naneth?" He questioned.

"You don't remember?" Thranduil asked slowly. "What is your age, Legolas? What do you remember?"

Legolas closed his eyes, trying to remember. "I... I think I should turn four hundred and... Thirty two? Thirty four. Four hundred and thirty four, this summer."

And he could not understand why his father's eyes suddenly watered.

* * *

**A/N no happy ending, sorry :/ and yes, Legolas lost his memory T_T**

**Please drop me some reviews! I was kind of happy about how this turned out, I hope you liked it as well!**

**And for all those Supernatual fans out there, yes, I'm referring to Sam Winchester as the moose ;D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: so this was, honestly, supposed to be a one shot. But getting this many follows, favs and reviews on one chapter, plus messages telling me to continue.. Well, I couldn't resist continuing! Thank you so much for every review or follow or favourite, I appreciate your support and everything :)**

**I've been stalling this until now, but hey that's just me. I always write the best whenever I'm stressed (aka I have 2 tests tomorrow and when I had exams)**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

"Adar?" Legolas asked worriedly, moving himself to sit up. His arms collapsed under his weight as he let out a yelp and fell back to the bed, panting. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen when he tried to move, and he bit back a groan of pain. "Why am I hurt?"

Thranduil bit his lip, moving to help Legolas back into place. "You don't remember." He said, more of a statement than a question. "You don't remember anything."

Furrowing his eyebrows together, Legolas tried to level his breathing before he spoke again. He still remembered everything. Maybe he'd forgotten the last bit, where he got hurt, but he still remembered everything else. He remembered his name, his father, his mother, his life... He knew everything. Why was his father so sad? "I remember."

Thranduil shook his head, standing up. "No, Legolas, you do not. You do not remember."

"I know who I am! I know who you are, and who Naneth is-"

"Legolas, please. Get some rest for now. We will speak later."

Before his son could protest, Thranduil headed outside the room. He lingered by the doorway. "Get some sleep, ion nin. Do not fret over it. I have some matters to look after. I will come back to you in a couple of hours. Be sure to get your rest. I'll bring you a healer when you awaken."

His son nodded slowly, for in his mind, he was, still, Ada's little child. He rested his head against the pillow and offered his father a smile, and when Thranduil smiled back, albeit with a hint of worry and pain, Legolas allowed himself to close his eyes and drift into sleep.

* * *

Thranduil handed the letter to his messenger. "This is urgent. Elrond must see to it as soon as he can. Do not forget to emphasize its importance."

The messenger bowed. "Yes, my lord."

"Very well. You may be on your way." Thranduil said, dismissing him. He let out a harsh exhale. He had dealt with memory loss before, but never had it been this major; Legolas had forgotten around two thirds of his life! He paced back and forth, deep in thought. He had told Legolas that he'd lost some memory. In fact, he couldn't have hid it, even if he had wanted to. Legolas knew he forgot something when he woke up wounded and in bed.

However, what really worried Thranduil, was Legolas' reaction once he had found that his mother was dead. He would not speak to Legolas of it yet; he could not risk losing his again. When Legolas' mother died, Legolas had isolated himself and refused to speak to anyone but the trees for three years. For three years, he simply followed his father's commands, blindly, unresponsive and blank. He'd stopped coming to the parties; in fact, he'd stopped sleeping in the palace altogether.

Thranduil did not want to risk that happening again.

But on his behalf, he knew that he could have helped Legolas when his mother passed away. Had he not been so depressed and in agony, he might have had some time to comfort his son. He shook his head in guilt, Elrond's words still clear in his mind.

"Thranduil, please. I know that you are in grief, but so is your son. You are both mourning over your wife, and you were so close to him. He needs you by his side now, as you need him. You will lose him, Thranduil. I am warning you. The son that was once so close to you? That looked up to you? He will think of you as no more than a king. Take this as a chance to get closer to him, not to drive him further away from you." Elrond had said.

Snorting, Thranduil shook his head. "Elrond, he is a grown boy. He will get over it. But I... She is my wife, Elrond. She is my life-"

"You are more of a grown man than he is! At least, you are supposed to be. She was a wife to you but she is a mother to him. She was close to his heart. Losing her will greatly affect him, as it will you." Elrond gritted.

"You do not understand!" Thranduil hissed in his drunken state. "You do not."

Elrond stood up. "I have lost my wife too, Thranduil. I do understand. I simply hope you understand what death truly means, too. Do not come to me when you feel your son s being different with you. I worry for him. Isolating himself like this will not help him."

With that, he had left the room, leaving an uncaring Thranduil behind.

Thranduil shook his head at the memory. Everything Elrond had said was true. Legolas had needed him, greatly, and he had let him down. Even on the last patrol they went to... Legolas had attempted to speak to him normally, like a son would with his father, but Thranduil had let him down again. They never spoke to each other unless Thranduil had called to Legolas for information about the patrols or the soldiers.

Nonetheless, this was his chance to bond with his son once more. In his head, Legolas still believed that his father was the same man he was before his wife's death. Although Thranduil doubted he could be that man, he promised himself he would try. Until Leolas regained his memory.

And perhaps even after that.

He began to make his way back to Legolas' chambers, hoping that his son would be awake by now. He'd ordered the cooks to prepare a small meal for Legolas so it would not hurt his disturbed stomach any further.

What really bothered Thranduil was that he would never understand why Legolas had jumped to fight that spider. He had seen Legolas climbing the trees, preparing to shoot down some of them. So why had he jumped down to the spider?

He'd gotten hit by the spider to his head, the healer had said. A possible concussion. He had not mentioned any memory loss, though. He'd also said that the way the spider fell onto Legolas was the reason Legolas' abdomen had a deep cut; or of the spider's legs had fallen right into his abdomen, piercing right through. Legolas would, apparently, be having a very hard time keeping any food down.

Slowly opening the door once he had reached his son's chambers, he found that Legolas was indeed awake. He was staring off into the distance, into the forests he could see from the windows. His ears perked, and though Thranduil knew Legolas knew he was in the room, Legolas did not move.

"I hope you rested well." Thranduil said. He tried to sound gentle, he really did. Yet being gentle had become something far from him now. Whereas he used to be one of the most gentle elves on middle earth, he was no one of the most harsh people. In his head, he saw himself holding his son close and apologizing, speaking gently. But when it came to actions... Thranduil could not get his voice or body to cooperate.

Legolas looked at him. "Yes. As well as I could have rested, anyways."

"Is the pain still there?"

Legolas raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes. It has lessened but it is still there. The herbs must have worn off." He replied, sounding a bit saddened.

Thranduil paced around the room, hands joined behind his back. "I will call a healer. The food should be here anytime soon." He said after a while, forcing a smile. With the way Legolas grimaced, Thranduil realised his attempt for a smile had failed.

It must be awful for Legolas, Thranduil thought. Waking up one day and finding that your father has become a different elf altogether. He stood in the hallway, by the door to the chambers. "Bring the healer." He ordered one of the guards. The guard nodded and scurried off immediately.

"Adar..."

Thranduil turned back into the room. "Yes?"

"Where is Naneth? Surely she would have come to check on me by now. She would not have left my side." He looked up at his father, their gazes locking. Legolas' eyes were full of fear and hurt. "It's unlike her to do this."

"Your mother has visited Lothlorien." Thranduil lied swiftly. "She left two days ago, and she will be back in a week. I did send to her to come home as quickly as she could, though. Once she is finished her business she will return."

Legolas nodded, brightening once more. "How did I get injured?"

"We were on a patrol." Thranduil answered. "I'm not sure why you jumped in front of the spider, but you did. You killed it and got harmed in return."

When Legolas remained quiet for the next two minutes,Thranduil looked at him. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he seemed perplexed. Thranduil raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

Legolas gulped slowly and looked up to his father. "Spiders? Why would I kill a spider?"

And Thranduil bit back a groan as he realised that Mirkwood in Legolas' head was still currently Greenwood the Great.

* * *

**A/N: a bridge chapter, hopefully more action in the next one!**


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